Designing for Circularity in Biodegradable Chemicals and Polymers

The project team hosted the Designing for Circularity in Biodegradable Chemicals and Polymers conference held in Liverpool. The event was co-sponsored by the Sustainable Chemicals and Materials Manufacturing Hub (schemahub.ac.uk) on 20 May 2025. The event was also part of the official Liverpool City Region Innovation Investment Fortnight programme which ran from 12 – 23 May 2025.
The conference welcomed delegates and speakers from across the UK, and internationally, blending scientific talks, industry engagement, and career development. Dr Ian Howell from Unilever opened the event, after which the following sessions took place:

• Polymers in formulations; a SYENSQO perspective – James Wilson, Renewable Materials and Biotechnology Growth Platform
• 100 years of turning grease to gold – Sarah Davidson, Croda Europe Ltd
• Sustainable processes and catalysts for the net zero transition – Stephen Poulston, Johnson Matthey
• Polyolefin hydrogenolysis across scales – Antonio Martín, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich
• Cleaner biocatalysis as a tool for sustainable chemical synthesis – Kylie A. Vincent, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford
• Biodegradability of polymers in liquid formulations – Andreas Künkel, BASF SE
• Degradable Nanoparticles via Polymerisation-Induced Self-Assembly – Steven P. Armes,
• School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Sheffield Towards Quantitative Structure-Property Relationships for Polymer Environmental Fate – Bradley D. Olsen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The day ended with a panel discussion chaired by Dr. John Conti-Ramsden titled “Challenges and opportunities for the UK chemical industry in a changing geopolitical landscape”, followed by closing remarks by Prof Matt Rosseinsky from the University of Liverpool and a networking session for delegates.